Now is the season for the biggest beers: flavor-loaded, with alcohol content frequently on par with wine.

With names like "Blackout Stout" by Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland, "Cereal Killer" barley wine by Arcadia Brewing Co. in Battle Creek and "Big Bad Baptist" barrel-aged imperial stout by Epic Brewing Co. in Salt Lake City, there's an emphasis on oomph: (9% alcohol by volume), (10% ABV) and (12.1% ABV), respectively. The trend is toward imperial stouts and barley wines (a style of ale), and their complexity is often enhanced by months of aging in bourbon barrels.

Many breweries release them just as it starts getting cold outside, often in wine-sized bottles. For enthusiasts, hunting down limited-release brews is a serious hobby. Some waited in long lines to buy multiple bottles of Canadian Breakfast Stout (11.7% ABV) by Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids. It's on the more-expensive end of the spectrum, selling for $25 per bottle or more.

These aren't the beers you crack open to wash down pizza in front of the TV. They're social.

At the Free Press newsroom, restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandchik and federal courts reporter Tresa Baldas joined me in tasting an advance sample of Canadian Breakfast Stout. We each discovered something different in it (see video).

During a cookout at home earlier this year, I served some friends from a bottle of Barrel-Aged Better Together (13.5% ABV), by Batch Brewing Co. of Detroit. The smooth, vanilla-toffee-like flavors and boozy finish of this hybrid imperial stout and scotch ale paired incredibly with fudge brownies.

This is how these kinds of beers should be enjoyed and savored: with other people. It makes the experience much more fun, and – considering the high alcohol concentration — probably a little safer. And of course, appropriate glassware, such as a snifter, makes a real difference.

When I bought a 4-pack of Black Note Stout (10.8% ABV) by Bell's Brewery of Comstock a few weeks ago, I tried the first one immediately. The other three are in my basement – a cool, dark place where they'll stay until the right occasion. Tasting Beer (2011) author Randy Mosher recommends aging imperial stouts and barley wines for a maximum of 3-20 years.

"As beer ages it dries out, becoming less sweet and more vinous. Somewhat counter-intuitively, aged beer may become more sweetly malty on the nose as the fragile hoppy and fruity aromas dissipate. As aging progresses, rich leathery, nutty or sherrylike oxidation adds another layer of flavor," Mosher said in the book.

Bell's Brewery helpfully publishes a recommended shelf life for its beers online. The entry under Black Note Stout is "unlimited," but I'm thinking I'll crack at least one more in the next few months. It's a perk that such gut-warming beers arrive just before winter.

A few others you might watch for on store shelves: Plead the 5th (11% ABV) Russian imperial stout by Dark Horse Brewing Co. of Marshall, New Holland 20th Anniversary (20% ABV) strong ale by New Holland Brewing Co. of Holland, and Bourbon County Brand Stout (15% ABV) by Goose Island Beer Co. of Chicago (good luck on that last one – they disappear fast).